As you walk through the scorched, barren Dragon Lands, you try your best to stick close to Spike and Ember. The last thing you’d want to do is piss off the wrong dragon and not have any backup on standby.

Hell, you don’t want to piss off any dragon.

“You alright, bro?”

Spike’s question knocks you out of your stupor, and you look down to meet his worried gaze. “Y-yeah, I’m okay.”

Ember’s tail slithers up, and comes crashing back down to the ground with a thud as she stops to address you. “The stutter in your voice says otherwise. Don’t tell me the only human in Equestria is afraid of dragons,” she mocks you. Though she’s not wrong.

“Well, duh,” you affirm. “Dragons can fucking breathe fire and rip creatures apart with their bare claws.”

“Mmm.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Spike interjects. “Now that Ember is in charge, things like that won’t happen anymore. She’ll be the best Dragon Lord ever.”

Ember sighs. “I wouldn’t be so sure, Spike. One of my scouts reported back recently, with news of an attack on Fillydelphia.”

“Who was responsible?” you ask. Ember peers up to the sky, a look of contemplation painted across her face. This is probably the first time you’ve actually seen the dragoness show some form of doubt since you’d met her.

“A rogue female,” she replies. “She wasn’t able to do much before the local guards ran her off, but she’s not doing any favors for the process of diplomacy between our nations.”

“If my world is anything to go by,” you say, managing to grab her attention, “you don’t need to worry. Most people can see that one bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. Of course, you’ll find those people who believe that one act is representative of an entire race, or religion, but they couldn’t be any more wrong.”

Ember doesn’t say anything, but gives a slight nod of approval to go along with the faintest of smiles. Shifting her head to the right, she beckons for the two of you to begin following her again.

“With gusto, captain,” you joke. Even though her head turned away from you, you swear you can see her rolling her eyes. Meanwhile, you use yours to scan the surrounding area. Geysers are certainly plentiful in the Dragon Lands, and plenty of dragons are putting them to good use with Winter quickly approaching. “So, what do you call this part?”

“This is Geyser Gorge,” she answers. “When the Dragon Lands begin to grow cold, the geysers release their natural gasses and help warm up the area.”

“Kind of like letting a shower steam up a restroom?”

Ember nods. “Yes, but on a much larger scale. The air becomes so thick that the average pony finds it hard to breathe when outside.”

You raise an eyebrow at that, something she quickly takes note of.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay staying here?” she asks. Then grins. Oh lord, here it comes. “After all, I’d hate to see the only human in Equestria die because he was too stupid to breathe.”

Before you can offer up a reply, Spike tugs on your arm. You look down to meet him, only to see that he’s pointing to one of the geysers. “Hey, check it out. Aren’t those the dragons we met when we first got here?”

“Huh.” You definitely do remember seeing the largest of the group before. “That’s Pyre, right?”

“Ah, so you’ve already met Pyre,” Ember pipes up. “He’s one of my most loyal dragons. When Garble tried to stage an uprising, he was the first one to place himself between the two of us.”

“Huh, no kidding?” You reply. Damn, that gave you some new respect for the guy. “Maybe we should go say hey?”

“If you insist,” Ember shrugs, flapping her wings and taking to the air.

“Welp, looks like we’re going on foot,” you chuckle, earning a laugh from Spike. The walk over there isn’t long, but it’s definitely hot. If this is how the Dragon Lands are all the time, then it’s going to take some getting used to.

By the time the two of you arrive, Ember is already knee-deep in conversation with Pyre. Luckily, he spots you, giving an upward nod of his head. You nod right back, letting him finish up his conversation with Ember.

“So I told him, ‘If you can’t handle being ruled by a girl, then tough luck finding a home on this planet,” Pyre boasts, causing his friend group to erupt in laughter. Ember, to her regal credit, only giggles.

“I was going to introduce you to Spike and his friend, but apparently they took the liberty of doing it themselves,” Ember glared abjectly at you.

“Ah, don’t sweat it,” Pyre smiles. “If it helps, she said you were ‘kinda charming’ while you were walking over here.”

In an instant, all the blue faded from Ember’s cheeks, replaced by the deepest of reds. Her stammer matched her blush to a ‘T’. “Th-that never happened. Shut the heck up, Pyre!”

“Your stammer says otherwise,” you finally clap back for her earlier insult. Truth be told, you’re absolutely floored that she’d said something like that, but you may as well roll with it. “‘Sides, it’s okay. I know I’m full of charisma,” you finish, striking an exaggerated pose, much to the amusement of Pyre and his group, whose uproarious laughter drowns out any reply Ember tries to throw out.

By the time their laughter finally dies down, Ember is shaking, face still as red as ever. Only this time, you can tell she’s pissed. “Alright, that’s it. Tour’s over. We’re going home, now!” she shouts, violently flapping her wings and flying off.

You and Spike simultaneously let out sighs. “Well, we’d better do what she says,” Spike says, earning a nod from you.

“Thanks for the laugh, Pyre,” you called out over you shoulder as the two of you begin the trek home.

“Hah, any time!” he shouts back.

Ember might be angry, but one thing is definitely certain. Not all dragons are scary. Some of them are downright fucking hilarious.

Dinner time. Every night, you thank Celestia that dragons eat fish, otherwise you’d starve for sure. Still, this meal wasn’t going to be without intrigue. As you pull out your seat and plop down on it, Ember slams her fork down on the table. The sound echoes through the dinner hall, eliciting a wince from you.

“Why is it just you tonight?” She demands. “Where is Spike?”

“Sleeping,” you reply. That earns another slam of her utensil. Fuck this, you’re not going to let her foul attitude ruin your meal. Instead of elaborating, you poke at the tilapia she’s given you with your own fork, read to chow down.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Huh?” You ask, shoving an especially delectable piece of fish in your waiting maw. “Curioush abou’ what,” you try to ask around your food.

“Why I said I think you’re… ‘charming’,” she spits out, disgust lacing her voice.

You gulp down your first bite. “Not really. I don’t really care if you find me charming. You’re kind of, you know… a dragon?”

Ember shoves herself away from the table, rising to her feet. Her hands go to her hips, and this is where you realize you’ve fucked up. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

You let out a very annoyed sigh, and roll your eyes. This was getting out of hand, and fast. Freaking Pyre. “Look,” you begin, “it means we’re not compatible. Even if you do think I’m charming, attractive, cute, whatever, I definitely do not feel the same way about you.”

Oh, shit. That might not have been the best thing to—

“Y-you think I’m ugly?” She chokes out. To your utter shock, tears begin to well up in the corners of her eyes. Before you can object, she takes off from the dining hall and flies in the direction of her personal chambers. The sound of a door slamming shut makes you wince yet again.

“Well, that could have gone better,” you announce to the empty room. After prodding at your food for another minute, only to realize you’ve lost whatever appetite you had, you make the somewhat foolish decision to go talk to her. “Well, on the bright side, it can’t get any worse…”

You can make out what sounds like sniffling on the other side of the door. It’s definitely not like Ember to show any semblance of weakness, be it physical or emotional, so something is wrong.

With a gulp, you rap lightly upon her door. You hear a faint gasp, then what sounds like items being shuffled around. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” you answer.

She gives a defeated sigh, and you hear the click of the door unlocking. “Ugh, just come in.”

You do as she asks, gently pushing her door open and walking into the darkness. The door clicks back shut behind you, and find yourself totally lost in the pitch black of her room. “Uh… Mind lighting a candle?”

“Oh, right. You humans can’t see well in the dark,” she says, gently blowing on a candle, igniting a flame on it. It’s still pretty dark, but much more manageable. “Just sit on the bed.”

You walk over to the foot of it and plop down next to her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Ember asks. You can tell she’s trying to remain composed, but her voice is betraying her with a tinge of sadness. “You were just being honest…”

You turn your head to face Ember, whose gaze remains focused on the floor. As you take in her features, one thing becomes very apparent. “Well… not entirely.”

Ember’s gaze rises back up to meet you, as her tail slithers around on the ground. “What is that supposed to be mean?”

You rub the back of your head, chuckling nervously. “I mean, you are shapely. F-for a dragon,” you add.

Ember blushes a little. “Frankly, I’m the one who owes you an apology. I shouldn’t have yelled at you and Spike the way I did.”

“You were embarrassed,” you say. “Anyone else would have reacted the same way, especially if they’re in a position like yours. You’re not supposed to seem vulnerable.”

“Right…” Ember mutters. She idly twiddles her claws. Something is on her mind, surely. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, anything,” you smile.

“What is a… kiss, like?”

Your eyes go wide, and you fall into a coughing fit. That is not a question you’d expected to hear from the Dragon Lord. After regaining your composure, you speak quietly. “I’ll tell you, but only if you answer a question for me first.”

“If I must,” she nods, a little smile present on her lips.

“Why aren’t you called the Dragon ‘Lady’?”

“Tradition,” she answers, immediately back to her regal self as she begins to explain. “The Dragon Lands have had hundreds of leaders, some male and some female. The title has nothing to do with our sex, it’s just a title meant to display power. I think you’d agree that ‘lord’ has more power to it than ‘lady’.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” you nod. Your gaze falls down to the floor, and you now find yourself twiddling your thumbs. “Now, I guess I owe you an answer as well…”

“Don’t bother.”

Curiosity gets the best of you and you decide to look back at Ember, just to see why she’s had a sudden change of heart. “What do you m–”

Your breath is taken away, replaced by the warmth of the Dragon Lord’s lips, which are now firmly planted upon your own. On any other day, you might have screamed and ran away, but honestly… you were afraid of upsetting her more. Surprisingly, her lips are soft, a sensation you aren’t against.

It feels like forever before her lips pop free of yours, a thin strand of saliva hanging between them. Your heart is pounding out of your chest. She doesn’t seem to care, though, and just smirks.

“Hm. Not bad.”

Author's Note

I am so sorry for the delay. Life took a toll on me, I moved states, I've moved apartments twice, and I'm on my first stable job since moving to Arkansas.

I hope you guys enjoy this much belated chapter. Oh, and... expect some more by this weekend ;)

Also since I'm a loser and took 3 years to update, Winter Solstice is when dragons enter heat, according to Ember in the prior chapter.